Sources: College hoops corruption case poised to take down Hall of Fame coaches, top programs, lottery picks

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NEW YORK – It has been five months since the FBI arrested 10 men in a sweeping federal probe into the underbelly of the basketball world. As the three ongoing criminal cases resulting from the investigation plod along, it’s increasingly unlikely there will be another wave of double-digit arrests.

More legal charges still could come, but what’s becoming increasingly clear as the discovery portion of the case comes to a close is that the breadth of potential NCAA rules violations uncovered is wide enough to fundamentally and indelibly alter the sport of college basketball.

The soundtrack to the three federal basketball corruption cases is essentially a ticking time bomb, which will inevitably explode. It will impact every major conference, Hall of Fame coaches, a score of current top players and some of the nation’s most distinguished and respected programs.

Multiple sources who’ve been briefed on the case and are familiar with the material obtained by feds told Yahoo Sports that the impact on the sport will be substantial and relentless. Sitting under protective order right now are the fruits of 330 days of monitoring activity by the feds, which one assistant US Attorney noted Thursday was “a voluminous amount of material.” That includes wiretaps from 4,000 intercepted calls and thousands of documents and bank records obtained from raids and confiscated computers, including those from notorious NBA agent Andy Miller.

“This goes a lot deeper in college basketball than four corrupt assistant coaches,” said a source who has been briefed on the details of the case. “When this all comes out, Hall of Fame coaches should be scared, lottery picks won’t be eligible to play and almost half of the 16 teams the NCAA showed on its initial NCAA tournament show this weekend should worry about their appearance being vacated.”

There’s a general expectation that this information will be released. It could come in trial, pre-trial motions or released by the government at some point. (No one is certain if they’ve agreed to eventually give it to the NCAA if it doesn’t go public.)

So how bad could be it? In terms of NCAA rules, multiple sources told Yahoo Sports that the material obtained threatens the fundamental structure and integrity of the sport, as there’s potentially as many 50 college basketball programs that could end up compromised in some way.
Among the documents expected to be in the federal government’s protection are the bank records of Miller, who bankrolled middle man, Christian Dawkins, who is at the center of two of the cases.

“If the NCAA is going to get Andy Miller’s bank records, God bless them, I don’t know what they’re going to do,” said another source with direct knowledge of the situation, chuckling at the thought. “You are better off changing the rules. The crazy part of this business is none of the kids are free.”

NCAA officials are staring at the prospect of a tournament with a winner that will likely be vacating its title – and many others eventually vacating their appearances. There’s a lingering mushroom cloud over the sport’s upcoming showcase event that won’t go away. The most fascinating and tricky variable here is time.

There’s a protective order on the evidence found in discovery in all three cases. Whether the information gets out in dribs and drabs or released at once, the consequences are expected to be severe.

The government is not compelled to release the information, according to Daniel Richman, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York who now teaches at Columbia Law School. “Sometimes never,” he said when asked generally about the timing of the release of information under protective order. He added: “The main sources of release will be in the course of pretrial motions and trial, and/or as related investigations go overt.”

1) Feds should not have the right to "wire tap, raid and confiscate" these ball players and their coaches. This is a game. My aunt Jenny was a know cheat at the family card table, will they be tapping her phone next!?

2) The corruption in the NCAA is the product of a system that is corrupt at it's very core on a massive scale. If you're not paying these kids for the entertainment they provide, then you are cheating them on such a huge scale that any and all allegations against them and their coaches is none-sense in comparison. Stop picking the berries and chop the tree down already.

3) Where the **** were these Feds when this kid in Florida that shot up the HS was posting pictures of himself with guns, and making comments on open social media platforms about becoming a school shooter etc... They said they attempted to but could not locate the source of his posts. HE USED HIS OWN ****ING NAME ONLINE. Basketball scandal??? WHO GIVES A ****!!!!

...been discussing NCAA basketball with my pops and friends recently after KU's Billy Preston got in trouble for having a car and went to Euro league. Why on earth are these lottery picks even signing with college teams!? Take your talents to the pros in China and Euro League, make some money and join the NBA after a year...not like youre getting a lot out of one year of college. If they fail completely the first semester, theyre only on academic probation second semester, so no actual penalty to basketball life. I've been of the opinion that if they pulled together they would win a huge lawsuit against NBA for not allowing 18yr old ballers, as well as NCAA for cheating them of income associated with their craft.

Good. Basketball sucks. If they would actually call the game the way it was created, it might be watchable. Instead, the stars take six or seven steps, carry the ball making their moves. The game is a joke. The game has been dead to me since the Kings left.

Don't get me started on Kansas Jayhawk fans. The absolute worst fans. EVER!

I don't quite understand the issue. Is this about college players getting paid?

On that note, they really should pay the players. They're school employees just like the professors are.

How would that work? Do they all get the same pay or would better players get paid more? How would that work with title 9? Would women's basketball players get paid the same amount as the men? Do football players get paid the same amount as volleyball players? Do soccer players get paid? Serious questions. I'm wondering what people's thoughts are.